by Mia Caridi
Covid-19 has put the country in peril. Masks and gloves are simply not protecting us anymore. We have been cemented in our homes for weeks, social distancing rules have been fabricated, and the world outside passes by without disruption despite our timeless, infinite days cohered at home.
Death rates have been skyrocketing. We fear not only for ourselves but for those that we put into danger around us. Panic has been widespread, stores wiped clean, jobs lost, money cut, and a droplet of fear placed in our hearts.
Fear has taken the reins of life, directing its course. We no longer feel safe in the hands of the government, doubt is taking root; we do not know whom to trust, we feel farther apart than ever before.
But what people overlook is that we are all in this together. Despite being so physically far apart, we are all connected, we are all facing the same privations and hardships. Neighbors you have not seen your whole life start to wish you well, fellow joggers whom you have never met are likely to smile and wave.
We are all interlinked through quandaries, we are all interfused by hope. Hope is the willingness to move on in the dark with the promise of light. Hope gives you purpose, and purpose is what drives you through life, it is what keeps you going even in the darkest of moments.
We must maintain hope in these foreign times because we are not alone. Regardless of all the havoc breaking down on our world, there is still beauty in it, there is still life.
Quarantine isolation and the frontlines have broken spirits but have also renewed them. We have been given time for self-reflection; our eyes have been opened to the beauty around us, the many dear things we had taken for granted.
Our lives outside of our homes have not ceased. We continue to meet, even if a screen separates us, but we still let our passions thrive. Quarantine does not terminate our activities; we still find ways to pursue them, to make them happen. We are still united in a virtual world. We are given the opportunity to live our lives, to let our planned events happen.
We can still enjoy the pleasures of life in quarantine. You can still read a book with coffee and take a refreshing walk. The list is endless of what we are still able to do. Covid-19 does not take away everything from us, Covid-19 does not have a restraint on us, not unless we allow it. We have the ability to continue doing what we love, even if there are some changes to keep ourselves safe.
We have learned to be grateful, to be kind, to make wishes, to lose hope, to become familiar with grief, to be alone, to be connected. The predicament of the world does not define our lives, we must keep driving forward, we must keep running our path because when we stop, coronavirus wins. The road we are on will not end, it will always continue and branch off. We cannot only combat the virus in the medical field, but we must also combat it with our sword of hope and shield of dreams.
Although it seems like life has stopped, it has not stopped. Life is still moving on, and so can we. We still have jurisdiction on our lives, we can still live in this world of beauty. We may feel stuck in a cage, but we are not, we are birds who can fly free, fly free with precautions.
Maybe life will always be different now, maybe these precautions will still exist in the future, but that does not mean the world is ending. There is still hope. Our world will get better eventually, and if not, that is all we can hope for.
Our world may feel so isolated and lonely, but we are all interconnected by an invisible string, amalgamating our hearts, and bringing us closer together than ever before. We all have the same wish and maybe in different forms, but overall, it is the same: a better world. When we let our wounds show and help pick up those around us, we become strong, we create an irreplaceable bond.
Our world may seem likely to crumble, but we are the foundation, we are what keeps it standing. This virus does not get to take it away from us, it does not get to take away this life we have grown to love. We must fight back, we must fight for what is ours because we are connected, we are not alone. The world is like the ocean, an unforgiving tide, our world has been divided, but our hearts all beat in time.